Hi, thanks for the response and the advice.
I called BA as soon as we got back, they listened to the recorded telephone call I had with them from the taxi and responded to my complaint by saying, "we have listened to your call, and you are right that we didn't tell you, but it doesn't matter because it is in our terms and conditions that your flight would be cancelled so tough", or words to that effect. Then when I tried to argue it they said "with all due respect, you would say that because you're not getting your money back". Pretty rude I thought, and no mention of the fact I could claim the taxes back either, I didn't know that until now! Unfortunately I went alone to the BA desk at Heathrow while the rest of our party went to find somewhere for the children to run around while they waited for our Virgin flight to Joburg, so other than any records they may have, so I have no proof of this.
I have since sent a complaint letter similar to my original post and the reponse said that they were sorry to learn that I had missed my flight and could understand my frustration but would not offer any kind of refund because of their terms and conditions. No reference to the customer service issues.
I am still pretty angry, but I also don't want to risk losing any more money to this. We already have a large credit card balance as a result and I'm getting to the end of my fight!
I have however just contacted them regarding the taxes etc, I was on hold for 20 minutes before they told me that I can't claim all of the taxes back and the refund will be subject to a £30 admin fee per person (a total of £180), he couldn't tell me how much I would receive, or how long it would take.
Thanks again for your comments, I will definitely have my own little smear campaign and one last letter before I call it a day! I just don't want the same to keep happening to others so it is a comfort to know that hopefully the EU will get some new rules in place.
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